Should I stay or should I go now?

I am considering changing the name of this blog (though it would require me to relocate and leave behind all my previous posts). I feel like I have out-grown this space because it was originally created for me to explore and learn about shooting with my Olympus Pen F. However, since that time I have fallen in love with photography in general and have acquired several cameras (film and digital alike)... so I feel that myolympuspenf.blogspot is limiting, and maybe slightly confusing to new comers.

Taken with my old point & shoot digital
so that I could get in all my cameras!

 Advice? Should I stay here? Should I consider a new more broad space? What should I call it? Any suggestions?

Throwing caution to the proverbial wind...

So I was about to give up on my Canonet 28 because of it's lack of manual controls, difficulty in focusing, limited lens, and general unpredictability, until... I got back this roll of film that changed my mind. The ironic thing is that actually by today's photography standards not a single shot in the roll would be considered a "good photograph". But thanks to two of my favourite, inspiring film photography blogs - Dream Camera and Black Eyed Angel, as well as my new found addiction to flickr (with such amazing groups as Grainy, Blurry, Yet Good), I have come to appreciate and love the glitches that come with shooting film; not in spite of the "faults", but rather because of them. This roll from my Canonet 28 is case in point.
Sometime ago, my mother unloaded a whole bag full of film from the fridge at her work because it was simply not going to get used up. It was a mish-mash of film that I am sure had been sitting there for at least 10 years. A few of them were in boxes with expiry dates (averaging around 2007), but others were just rolls in their canisters with no expiration dates to be found. Well, I figured... one of the reasons I love shooting film is because of the element of surprise, expired film is like walking on the wild side, throwing caution to the wind, dancing with the devil! ... ok, maybe I have gone too far there, none the less, I figured... why the hell not.
These are a few of my favourites from that fateful roll. I think the expired film gives them such an "old" feeling. Like I had found a box of long lost photos in the attic that didn't quite make the cut to be put in the family photo albums.

And I am actually kinda proud of my little Canonet 28, she did alright in the end. More from this roll and the holidays to come soon enough...

Renewed love

Over the holidays I had a wonderful time playing with my new d-SLR and managed to take well over 500 photos (though I was pretty good at weeding them down as I went, I still have at least 300 left on my computer). And it served the exact purpose that I wanted it to, instant photos that I could share with my family immediately. Everyone went home from the holidays with a usb or laptop full of my photos - since I seemed to be taking so many, everyone else felt less obliged to capture them with their own (which is fine by me). And I really did get some good shots of my family and all the excitement with them (without ever having to reload or scrutinize too much over the shot since I could simply erase any I didn't like and try again).
But I also managed to take 2 1/2 rolls of film (which isn't bad considering how much time I spent with my digital and how much time we spent just lounging about inside and doing nothing particularly photo-worthy). One roll was with my trusty Pentax K1000 and the other with my still experimental Canonet 28. The other half roll is still waiting to be finished in my Olympus Pen F.
The beautiful thing was that as soon as I finished those rolls and got them developed I couldn't wait to see them! And when I did, I spent so much time just looking through them again and again deciding how to post and organize them for my blog... I just couldn't wait to share them! And there my friends... was my renewed love with film. That is why I love those cameras and why I will never abandon them. My digital is wonderful and it serves a very practical purpose (which is also great!)... but my film cameras are completely impracticable and fantastic because of that! The pictures are special, carefully calculated... there is so much more invested in each shot and yet the results are always a surprise!
So for now, since I still can't decide how to organize my next post... I will give you my absolute favourite shot of the whole trip (film & digital alike)... taken with my Pentax K1000 and expired Polaroid 200 film.

My mom & baby niece - Pentax K1000

Love.

My new d-SLR

Wait! What?? Did she say d-SLR, as in digital SLR?! *Gasp!* But I thought she was a film lover! This blog is supposed to be about Old Technologies! Has she gone to the dark side forever?

No, no, no.. fret not my film loving friends, I still adore my film cameras and plan to continue my love affair with them. But I have always wanted a good digital camera for all that practical stuff, like family dinners, Christmas morning with my little nieces, birthday parties with my friends. The kind of stuff that I don't want to miss out on because I am too busy fussing with shutter speed and aperture settings. When I want to capture a moment in a picture, but I don't want to let the moment slip by without enjoying it in the present. This is what I love about a digital. My new digital is a Canon Rebel XS that has a ton of choices in terms of settings in that it can be fully manual or fully automatic so it is extremely versatile for whatever I need. For just an anytime quick shot or a more complex artistic shot. (Thanks Mom & Dad for the birthday present!)

An added bonus to my new digital camera is the increased learning curve about general photography stuff (like depth of field, aperture, etc.) because I have instant feedback and can compare pictures with different settings immediately. As a beginner photographer, this has been wonderful for learning quickly.

So I will mostly stick to film photos being posted here, but may include some digitals if I get any really great shots. I find in general, very little is gained from exclusivity... so why not apply this rule to my blog as well?

Looks like I am going to need a bigger bag for all my cameras this holiday!!

My first experimental shots from the Vancouver Christmas Market this past weekend.

Take me Home, Country Roads...

Every time I go back to Alberta to visit Jeffrey's family, I can't help but sing that song. They live in a rural prairie area where golden tones rule and the sky seems to go on forever. When we first started dating, we always had the debate: Mountains vs. Prairies (me being from the Rockies, him being from the Flatlands). I could never understand how flat could be beautiful... that is until I visited his hometown. There was a point when we were riding our bikes out of town into the farmlands and I was literally stopped dead in my tracks by the vastness of the sky! I never understood just how small the sky could make you feel and how awe inspiring that openness could be.
Now don't get me wrong, I will still choose mountains over prairies any day of the week, but I certainly have a new found appreciation for the beauty of those prairie skies. These photos were taken on a hike over the Thanksgiving long weekend. Although there aren't any sky shots, they certainly captured those lovely yellow tones. All photos taken with my Olympus Pen F.

Happy Birthday to a wonderful man!

Happy Birthday to my best friend, my future husband, and my favourite photo subject...

I love you! 

P.S. Why are you so darn photogenic?!

Ol' Jack Frost

The snow has long since been washed away by the typical winter rains here in Vancouver, and with it, my Christmas spirit. That one weekend of fresh snow really put me in the Christmas mood, but somewhere between all of my different "to do lists", the mood has faded. But luckily the pictures remain!! (And the to do lists have at least gotten shorter).
These shots were from later in the day on that first snowfall, when the sun came out and began to melt away my winter wonderland. All shots taken with my Olympus Pen F.

P.S. I got a very exciting birthday present yesterday, which I will share more about soon :)